Fine-toothed combs have long been known and used. The known fine-toothed combs are all designed with teeth, which are mounted on or molded into a straight piece. This right angle is not desirable since a human head is mainly round. With the known fine-toothed combs it is only a small section of the teeth, relative to the entire comb width, which affects the scalp. With the known fine-toothed combs then only a max of approx. 2 cm is combed at a time on the parts of the head which is round. With the known fine-toothed combs, combing often feels uncomfortable because the teeth are often sharp and because a relatively small area is affected during combing. The teeth on some of the fine-toothed combs made of steel feels like needles on the scalp. The handle on most known fine-toothed combs is flat and thin and not shaped to be held for a longer period of time.
The teeth on the known fine-toothed combs are of plastic or steel. The teeth of steel are round. For the plastic material the teeth are molded into a thinner flat shape. The grey color of steel is not appropriate because lice are close to having the same color and are therefore not well spotted with the color of steel as a background.
Here follows eleven issues regarding the function of the fine-toothed comb:
A fine-toothed comb aims to collect as many lice and nits as efficiently as possible (1) and as quickly as possible (2). Combing of hair is a time consuming job. It takes up to an hour to comb a thick, half long hair with the existing fine-toothed combs.
Lice reside mainly on the scalp or the hair near the scalp. Therefore it is important that the fine-toothed comb is designed in such a way that as much of the scalp as possible may be affected each time the comb is pulled through the hair (3). After finding lice, the fine-toothed comb is led through the hair many times. It is therefore important that the act is carried out as gently as possible and with as few combings as possible (4).
It is known and used to use a fine-toothed comb for removing scurf sitting on the scalp and for removing dandruff and for treatment of psoriasis in the scalp. It is therefore important that the act can be performed as gently as possible and with as few touches as possible (5).
Often combing is painful on the person's delicate scalp. Therefore, the teeth should be designed in such a way that the tips of the teeth irritate the scalp by a minimum (6).
One aspect of the function of the fine-toothed comb is that the handle/base portion is comfortable to hold on for a longer period. The grip must be good. With a good grip the user is motivated. (7).
The handle should fit the hands of different sizes (8).
It should be possible to use the comb or fine-toothed comb on heads of varying size and shape. (9)
Nits sit glued onto straws of hair at a distance of approx. 0.1-1.0 cm from the scalp. Adult lice have a length of 2-3 mm. The nits are approx. 0.8 mm. If the nits also are to be collected with a fine-toothed comb, the space between the comb teeth is required to be below 0.8 mm.
As the hair becomes harder to untangle the smaller the gap is between the teeth, there can be several sizes of fine-toothed combs with different gap between the teeth, for example a comb for nits and a comb for lice (10). The fine-toothed comb designed for nits will also collect lice. However, it depends on hair thickness, length and possible creasing if this is feasible.
It is known and used to use conditioner or oil in the hair so it becomes easier to comb. Conditioner and oil makes the hair smooth and makes it more difficult for lice to move. The handle or base portion of the comb may therefore be designed to give a good grip which anyone, both child and adult, can hold without effort, and without regard to whether there is conditioner alternative oil in the hair or not (11).